Desire, Emotion & Knowledge - the Psychological Sources of Human Behavior

Plato wrote that desire, emotion, and knowledge are the three primary sources of human behavior. What are these, and are they the best explanation of our behaviors?

According to Plato, desire, emotion, and knowledge are the three primary sources of human behavior.

Fast forward about 2,400 years, and it seems like he was right… kind of.

From single cells to full Octopus Aupollyon, organisms survive when they can live long enough to spread their genes and memes. Somewhere in the middle, we, Homo Sapiens, are no different. Our phenomenology is, presumably, one more mechanism to promote inter-species variability while trying to reproduce and ensure the longevity of our offspring. In other words, having a conscious experience makes each of us unique, which is good. This is believed to be the main reason we have subjectivity, preferences, and emotions.

From basic human needs to virtuous goals

A healthy brain is always in pursuit of external resources - to fulfill direct or indirect physiological needs, that will allow us to live until our children are mature and independent. These needs include resting and preserving energy (equilibrium), air, water, or food (physical needs), property or shelter (physical safety), friendship, esteem, or family (social safety), and information and self-actualization (which cycles back, to how to get more of the previous ones). This search feels emotion-driven: We are frustrated, sad, or angry when we do not get what we want and feel happy, calm, or enthusiastic when we do. But evolutionary, it’s the other way around – we have these emotions to motivate us to fulfill these needs.

Desires are strong feelings of wanting to have something that will fulfill a need. They arise when we have a hunger (in the broad sense of the word) or “feeling of emptiness”, even if for no good reason, and cloud our emotions until they are fulfilled. For example, we desire cakes or sugars much more than we need to survive. Drugs like coffee or alcohol are also good examples of desires. Using the bathroom, finding order in the world, having sex, or getting revenge are all desires.

Goals are end results. They are mental representations (or figures of imagination) of our future selves. They are long-term maps built around our more basic needs but help us think we aspire for something more significant and virtuous. They direct us to get there through a specific path, reducing competition, internal conflict, and the number of choices one must make. For example, they may sway us to hang with people sharing, or appreciating, our goals; stop us from switching fields of interest every other day; or help us stick to choices we have already made. They reduce competition by limiting the areas we compete in and the number of competitors we have (“now I must only be better than all the other astronaut candidates, and not better than everyone at everything”). In this sense, goals are bits of knowledge we hold about ourselves and where we want to be.

Knowledge, mental representations, and individual differences

One thing about knowledge, specifically mental representations, is its different levels of complexity. Some people have very detailed imagery, and some do not. Though it may depend on the topic and how much we focus on it, there is a robust individual tendency here. Try to imagine a cat, for example. Let’s even give this cat a name - Cat. For some of you, the visual perception of a cat has already popped into your mind, while for others, a vague semantic representation of a cat will be activated. Among the first group, various levels of representations may arise – you can see a general shape of a cat, or a colored one, with facial features and expressions, different fur textures, etc. You may also perceive Cat’s sounds, tactile sensation, odor, or any combination. Both brains scans and asking your friends can support these individual differences. And the same goes for goals.

The stuff that goals are made of

Now that we know about needs, desires, and goals, we can start asking- what do they have to do with our behavior?

When you imagine yourself as a world-renowned scientist – you may imagine yourself in a lab, giving a lecture, analyzing data, or receiving your Nobel prize. You may see yourself with children jumping around you or living alone in a tidy apartment. You can be healthy, fit, wealthy, white-teethed, well-dressed, have beautiful art pieces in your house, a huge tv set, a small waterfall in your living room, and a private chef. When we dream, we usually aim high.

Now, remember Cat? What was the color of its eyes? What was its gender? Were its nails clipped or sharp? You can come up with the answers to these questions upon request, but did you actually see them when spontaneously thinking of Cat? Back to you – assuming you wish to be a famous actor or a wealthy businesswoman, can you see all the other details? You can probably see some: family aspirations are usually there. Goal-related details, such as being well-dressed in these examples, are also prevalent. But many other parts of your future self will not be there. Did you imagine how many sleep hours you will have every night or what are your stress and anxiety levels?

Some of our most basic needs, like water and shelter, are given when thinking about a goal. I do not need to dive deep into the details to figure that I will be well-fed when I get my Abel prize or that I will have where to sleep next to my Oscar or Praemium Imperiale. Other needs are not.

Following goals, suppressing temptations

And this is where human behavior becomes so complex and interesting.

Having white and healthy teeth, for example, is a desirable and easy goal. All you must do is brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day and floss daily. You can take the extra step of brushing an hour after lunch. What can be simpler? But the goal of having the perfect smile is usually easily forgotten. Most people will claim they want it (above 99% of the population!) and are willing to make an effort to perfect their smile (84%). Yet only 70% of Americans usually brush their teeth twice a day, only 40% floss, and only 9% manage to evade cavities across life.

Similar statistics can be found with a weight-loss goal: About half of all Americans try to lose weight each year, with about 40% trying it “3 to 10 times” a year. Most of these diets will fail (not reaching their goal, or a 10% weight drop), and ~65% of successful individuals will gain their pre-diet weight in a span of 3 years or less.

Similar statistics can be found with medication adherence, even in life-threatening situations, the decision to master a musical instrument, and any long-term behavioral change.

So, what fails in the process? Well, we do, obviously, but why?

In the next article, I will talk about the interplay different goals have on our behaviors, how short- and long-term desires compete on our behaviors, how they form self-control conflicts, and which goals are worthy and which are not. Stay tuned!